Vikings dominate the mat

EVERETT — It’s a bit early in the wreslting season to be making bold predictions.

After one round of action, however, this much is for sure — defending 4A state champion and constant powerhouse Lake Stevens isn’t fading into the sunset anytime soon.

The Vikings opened the season Friday night at Mariner with a pair of duals that could’ve been competitive. Instead, Lake Stevens rolled to almost flawless wins, taking out Kamiak 61-12 and Mariner 68-0.

Yes, the Vikings are still those same, ‘ole Vikings.

“This has the make up of one of the better teams we’ve had,” Vikings coach Brent Barnes said. “We’re young in some places, but we have talent at those spots. The key is just going to be how our leaders perform and how healthy we stay. It’s early, so there’s still a long way to go.”

Mariner had a pair of returning state qualifiers at 145 and 152, but the Vikings managed victories by way of decision at those weights and then stomped through the rest of the dual.

Mariner’s Karl Bush, who was seventh at state a year ago, jumped ahead of Josh Eacrett early, before the Vikings’ 145-pounder picked up a fall 22 seconds into the third period.

“That was a good match. I thought Josh did a good job of staying in there and staying composed. He was down, but came back to win and that’s good to see,” Barnes said. “There were some good battles tonight, even though we came out on top in a lot of them.”

Lake Stevens had six falls against Mariner, including three straight at 215, 285 and 103. Josh Heinzer, a defending state champion at 103, got his in only 25 seconds.

“They’re no joke,” Mariner coach Otto Olson said of the Vikings. “It’s a little surprising how that turned out. You hope to win at least one somewhere, but they’re a tough team and they had good guys at all of the spots where we had good guys. It was a tough matchup for us.”

It also was a tough matchup for Kamiak. Lake Stevens picked up seven falls in that one, four of them in the first period. Kamiak’s Collin Munoz at 171 and Tyler Nigg at 215 did pick up victories by way of fall.

For Lake Stevens, Justin Grow, Josh Monson, Zach Tueber and Heinzer all had a pair of falls on the night.

At Mariner H.S.

Lake Stevens 61, Kamiak 12

103—Heinzer (LS) fall C. Nelson, :50; 112—Zweifel (LS) fall R. Nelson, 2:50; 119—Stillwell (LS) fall Strickland, 1:57; 125—Anderson (LS) decisioned Kusilek, 8-3; 130—Alewine (LS) decisioned Semple, 8-5; 135—Pelligrini (LS) fall Johnston, :56; 140—Monson (LS) fall Jacobsen, 2:52; 145—Earcrett (LS) decisioned Reagan, 13-5; 152—King (LS) fall Mahar; 160—Welch (LS) decisioned Manzano, 11-1; 171—Munoz (K) fall Mahn, 2:37; 189—Grow (LS) fall Boyle, 2:55; 215—Nigg (K) fall Lehuquet, 2:31; 285—Teuber (LS) fall Alusi, 1:45. Records—Lake Stevens 2-0 overall. Kamiak 0-1.

Lake Stevens 68, Mariner 0

103—Heinzer (LS) fall Parker, :25, 112—Zweifel (LS) technical fall Nguyen, 16-0, 119—Villani (LS) fall Alejandro, 1:11; 125—Anderson (LS) fall Johnson, 4:58; 130—Alevino (LS) decisioned Tiongco, 4-1; 135—Pelligrini (LS) technical fall Boyd, 17-0; 140—Monson (LS) fall Hoang, 0:28; 145—Earcrett (LS) fall Bush, 4:28; 152—King (LS) decisioned Link, 8-0; 160—Welch (LS) decisioned Coffman, 11-6; 171—Mahn (LS) decisioned Do, 6-1; 189—Lehuquet (LS) decisioned Nelson, 5-4; 215—Grow (LS) fall Ferguson, 2:22; 285—Teuber (LS) fall Irby, 1:50. Records—Lake Stevens 2-0 overall. Mariner 1-1.